Fall Galaxies

[Bigzmey]

10/06/2023

Location: Anza desert site, Bortle 4.0.

Equipment: Celestron 9.25” Edge HD SCT on SW SkyTee 2 manual AltAz mount.

EPs:
Pentax XW 10mm, 70 deg (235x, 1.0mm exit pupil, 0.30 deg TFV)
Pentax XW 14mm, 70 deg (168x, 1.4mm exit pupil, 0.42 deg TFV)
Pentax XW 20mm, 70 deg (118x, 2.0 mm exit pupil, 0.6 deg TFV)

Fall is here but it did not feel like that last weekend. We had a heat wave and I have arrived at the Anza desert on Friday to summer weather. It did not last long though. The sunset was around 18:30 and the temperature dropped rapidly, so by the onset of astronomical darkness I was already bundled in all autumn layers. .

19:50. PEGASUS GALAXIES
Pegasus square was dominating eastern, the darkest portion of the sky and was a natural choice to start galaxy hunting.

NGC 7375 (mag 13.7, size 48" x 36", SB 12.6) – faint oval with brighter central area (118x).

During my previous Pegasus session three weeks ago, I have found by chance and enjoyed the group of galaxies called Stephan’s Quintet. This time it did not took long for me to stumble on another fine group of five galaxies which is referred on the internet as

NGC 7385 GROUP (all observed at 168x)
It is dominated by two larger, brighter (in relative terms) galaxies, NGC 7385 (mag 13.2, size 1.8' x 1.2', SB 13.3) and NGC 7386 (mag 12.3, size 1.8’ x 1.1’, SB 12.8).

NGC 7383 (mag 13.7, size 48" x 42", SB 12.8) on the left from the main pair was fainter and smaller, but the round shape was obvious.
NGC 7387 (mag 14.0, size 42" x 24", SB 12.4) and NGC 7389 (mag 13.9, size 1.4' x 54", SB 13.9) below NGC 7385 and NGC 7386 were too faint to define the shape, but subtle glow was definitely there.

Interestingly, I have observed NGC 7385 and NGC 7386 in the past with 8” SCT. Both were AV targets, and the other three members of the group were not resolved. So, while increase in the aperture from 8” to 9.25” is modest, it does make a difference on faint targets. Peeling another layer of galaxies as Alan would say. The optics of the Edge 9.25” is also noticeably sharper than of plain 8” SCT, which contributes to.

Moving to the next target.

NGC 7411 (mag 13.4, size 54" x 54", SB 12.9) – small faint round spot (168x).
NGC 7415 (aka NGC 7415-1, mag 15.0, size 1.1' x 12", SB 13.1) – very faint, small, narrow shape in the same FOV with NGC 7411 (168x, 235x).
NGC 7420 (mag 13.9, size 48" x 36", SB 12.8) – extremely faint round spot, detected with AV by moving EP (168x).
NGC 7433 (mag 14.0, size 42" x 12", SB 11.6) – FAIL.

After about an hour of observing I took a break to relax the eyes and contemplate my next target area. Pisces Austrinus was near the highest position in the south and I decided to continue my galaxy hunt there.

21:20. PISCES AUSTRINUS GALAXIES

IC 5270 (mag 12.2, size 3.2' x 36", SB 12.7) – very faint AV oval (168x).
IC 5269 (mag 12.2, size 1.7' x 48", SB 12.3) – faint lens, detected with AV by moving EP (168x).

GRUS GALAXY
I have crossed briefly to Grus.

IC 1459 (aka 5265, mag 10.0, size 5.2' x 1.8', SB 12.2) – bright oval, with brighter central area and compact core (168x).

And back to Pisces Austrinus.

PISCES AUSTRINUS GALAXIES (continued).

IC 5269A (mag 13.4, size 1.3' x 54", SB 13.3) – FAIL.
IC 5269B (mag 12.4, size 4' x 42", SB 13.3) – FAIL.
IC 5271 (mag 10.8, size 2.6' x 54", SB 11.5) – narrow lens with brighter central area (168x).
NGC 7109 (mag 13.3, size 42" x 42", SB 12.3) – faint small spot (168x).
NGC 7110 (mag 13.2, size 1.3' x 36", SB 12.7) – FAIL.

NGC 7135 (mag 11.7, size 2.1' x 1.8', SB 12.9) – very faint oval, detected with AV by moving EP (168x).
NGC 7154 (mag 12.4, size 2.2' x 1.8', SB 13.6) – FAIL.
PGC 67701 (mag 12.0, size 2.2' x 1.8', SB 13.5) – faint round disk with AV (168x).
NGC 7187 (mag 12.5, size 1.3' x 1.2', SB 12.7) – faint disk with stellar core (118x, 168x).

NGC 7221 (mag 12.1, size 2' x 1.6', SB 13.1) – faint, elongated oval (118x, 168x).
NGC 7225 (mag 12.3, size 2' x 1', SB 12.8) – faint oval with brighter narrow rhombus within. I thought it represents galaxy bar, but looking at on-line image something else is going on (118x, 168x).

NGC 7267 (mag 12.2, size 1.6' x 1.4', SB 12.8) – wide faint oval with brighter central area (118x, 168x).
NGC 7314 (mag 11.0, size 4.6' x 2', SB 13.2) – large lens next to star (118x).
NGC 7361 (mag 12.3, size 3.9' x 1', SB 13.5) – FAIL.

Took another break to stargaze for a bit and decided to spend the final leg of the evening in Aris.

ARIS GALAXIES

NGC 671 (mag 13.3, size 1.5' x 30", SB 12.7) – small narrow shape with AV (118x).
NGC 677 (mag 12.2, size 2' x 2', SB 13.4) – faint disk with compact core (118x, 168x).
NGC 694 (mag 13.7, size 36" x 24", SB 11.9) – FAIL.
NGC 711 (mag 13.1, size 1.6' x 42", SB 13.0) – faint small narrow oval (168x).
NGC 716 (mag 12.9, size 1.8' x 48", SB 13.0) - faint small narrow oval (118x).
NGC 776 (mag 12.4, size 1.7' x 1.7', SB 13.3) – faint round spot with brighter central area (118x).

By midnight I was getting my share of the faint fuzzies, but before braking up wanted to take a look at Jupiter.

JUPITER
About a month from opposition Jupiter was blazingly bright. Temperate belts and polar zones were lost in the intense glow, but two major equatorial belts were rich in details. Pale pink GRS was transiting and the Red Spot Hollow was well defined (235x).

[JayTee]

That is one lengthy and excellent report.

Out of curiosity, have you started dictating your notes, instead of writing them out?

[Bigzmey]

Sorry about the length JT. Even with frequent breaks one can squeeze a lot in a 4 hour session.

I still prefer to keep written log for a few reasons. To give you one I like to go back and look at my field notes. True, I type them after each session into electronic log, but it does not feel the same as scrolling through hand-written "raw" notes.

[messier 111]

as always it was a pleasure to read your report, but this time I read very slowly it made me relax and dream after my day of..... .
thx.

[Bigzmey]

as always it was a pleasure to read your report, but this time I read very slowly it made me relax and dream after my day of..... .
thx.

Thanks Jean-Yves! Bummer about your scope, I hope they will sort it out soon.

[Ylem]

Wow, what an evening and a well written report

[Juno16]

Awesome report Bigz!
Sounds like a beautiful evening at Anza.
Thanks for the very nice read.
Do you see other folks when you are there or do you usually have the place to yourself?

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Jeff and Jim!

Anza is a club site so typically on a moonless night there are a few folks doing AP. However, the site is large and never crowded.

Some people are very social and do AP in groups, some are very private. I am somewhere in between. Before sunset I would stop by to check out the equipment or chat with friends, but after dark I like my private corner to focus on observing.

I guess it is a sign of times, but visual observers (in particular with manual mounts) are dying breed. It has been years since I seen another visual observer there.

[helicon]

What a great report and interesting choice of targets at the edge of visibility in some cases, congratulations on your exploration of Piscis Austrinus, Grus, Aries, and Pegasus Andrey for new observations - nailing down the VROD for the day!

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Michael, much appreciated!

[StarBru]

I guess it is a sign of times, but visual observers (in particular with manual mounts) are dying breed. It has been years since I seen another visual observer there.

Man, Bigzmey, I would love to go observing with you! I could learn so much, I'm sure! What a great observing session. Congrats on winning the VROD!

You're right, we are a dying breed, and even though I have purchased several digital cameras, I have yet to make that leap to AP. I'm looking forward to just observing from my backyard this weekend. Keep doing what you're doing!

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Bruce! In all fairness it was easier to get into visual observing when we were young. Equipment was much simpler, but the sky was much better. I am keeping an eye on EAA developments but hope to catch a few more galaxies before it becomes necessity.

[kt4hx]

That is such a fine galaxy hunt Andrey! I like to envision the Great Square as a box full of galaxies, just waiting to be opened. I would have liked to been there sharing the views with you, and experience your fine observing location.

I particularly liked the observation notes for the NGC 7385 Group of galaxies. This little group of six galaxies is more formally known as WBL-688 from a paper in 1999 that identified 732 optically selected nearby poor clusters of galaxies. The galaxies within this specific group as identified as:

NGC 7383 - WBL 688-001
NGC 7385 - WBL 688-002
NGC 7386 - WBL 688-003
NGC 7387 - WBL 688-005
NGC 7389 - WBL 688-004
NGC 7390 - WBL 688-006

It is always fun and interesting to observe small galaxy groups, as they give you a lot of action without the confusion of the enormous fields in groups such as found in Virgo and Coma. Well done and a very solid VROD outing. Keep up the excellent field work my friend.

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Alan! I knew you would know the proper name of that group. Pegasus indeed is a treasure trove, plenty of time spent and plenty yet to observe.

[kt4hx]

Thanks Alan! I knew you would know the proper name of that group. Pegasus indeed is a treasure trove, plenty of time spent and plenty yet to observe.

Well for all intents and purposes NGC 7385 Group is sufficient. I just added that as an interesting aside!

Just like Stephan's Quintet is Hickson 92. In the end, who cares as long as you can see them.

Another group of interest is the Pegasus I Galaxy Cluster at the Pegasus-Pisces border. It is dominated by the two elliptical galaxies NGC 7619 and 7626 and is a fine bunch of fuzzies. For a nice challenge, the four galaxies east of big and bright NGC 7331 about half a degree NNE of Stephan's Quintet are an interesting contrast. They are more distant and significantly dimmer than NGC 7331. They have the nickname of the "Deerlick Group" for an observing site in North Carolina. They are also called a "dog and its fleas." The four are NGCs 7335, 7336, 7337 and 7340. There are a few other "objects" near NGC 7331 that carry NGC identifiers, but they are dim stars that apparently seemed diffuse to their respective discoverers.

[John Baars]

Great report!
Nice "Galaxy-peeling" with a great instrument.
Congratulations on your VROD!

[kt4hx]

I forgot to comment on your peeling back a layer comment. You are indeed correct that under average circumstances, a small aperture bump is typically not important visually if one only observes brighter objects all the time. However, when one works near or at the threshold for dimmer objects, such as galaxies, even a 1.5 to 2 inch jump can make that difference between not seeing or seeing a dim object. Thus my past comment about peeling back the layers of an onion while galaxy hunting.

[Ylem]

Congratulations on the well deserved VROD Bigz!

[Bigzmey]

Thanks Alan! I knew you would know the proper name of that group. Pegasus indeed is a treasure trove, plenty of time spent and plenty yet to observe.

Well for all intents and purposes NGC 7385 Group is sufficient. I just added that as an interesting aside!

Just like Stephan's Quintet is Hickson 92. In the end, who cares as long as you can see them.

Another group of interest is the Pegasus I Galaxy Cluster at the Pegasus-Pisces border. It is dominated by the two elliptical galaxies NGC 7619 and 7626 and is a fine bunch of fuzzies. For a nice challenge, the four galaxies east of big and bright NGC 7331 about half a degree NNE of Stephan's Quintet are an interesting contrast. They are more distant and significantly dimmer than NGC 7331. They have the nickname of the "Deerlick Group" for an observing site in North Carolina. They are also called a "dog and its fleas." The four are NGCs 7335, 7336, 7337 and 7340. There are a few other "objects" near NGC 7331 that carry NGC identifiers, but they are dim stars that apparently seemed diffuse to their respective discoverers.

That's a nice name! Going thorough my logs looks like I already picked the dog and a couple of flees; and NGC 7619 and 7626 also with two dimmer friends. All was done with 8" SCT. I should revisit to see if I can catch more with 9.25".

[Bigzmey]

Great report!
Nice "Galaxy-peeling" with a great instrument.
Congratulations on your VROD!

Congratulations on the well deserved VROD Bigz!

Thanks John and Jeff!